


A Formal Way

by mari681



Series: 30 Day Cheesy Tropes Challenge [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: 30 Day Cheesy Tropes Challenge, Anonymous Love Letters, M/M, Traditions, Wizarding Courting Traditions, sorta - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-06
Updated: 2015-05-06
Packaged: 2018-03-29 07:05:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3886867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mari681/pseuds/mari681
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A chance is taken, and something grows.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Formal Way

**Author's Note:**

> I meant to do it more love-letters, but it got away from me.
> 
> Love Letters - sorta - after Hogwarts. Scorpius is four, Teddy is eight. No Ginny - she choose her quidditch career over Harry, and never really accepted Teddy. Dracos’ wife, well, it was a marriage of convince, with a clause to end after a son was born.   
> And I will admit, I chickened out with ending it, but I don’t want to let these get too long - and I’m on a time constraint, with working.

Draco looked up with a curse from his paperwork, his concentration broken. Who the bloody hell would be sending an owl at this late an hour?

As the owl kept pecking at the window, Draco finally got up with a slight snarl. The stupid bird would keep at it until he let it in. When the bird was let in, it dropped a letter on his desk, then flew back out.

Draco made his way back to his desk, grumbling. Admittedly, this would be a good reason for him to go to sleep,  finally , but… Who was rude enough to send a letter at eleven o’clock at night?

He frowned as he saw the envelope. No seal, not even a dribble of wax. Surely this was a prank. Draco shook his head, and left it where it lay. No, he would look at it once he got some sleep.

But he couldn’t sleep. Draco tossed and turned for an hour before he finally gave up, and tossed the covers back.

Padding bare-footed through the suite, Draco made his way back to his study. With a sigh, he sat down heavily, and picked up the letter, turning it over and over in his hands.

He carefully opened the envelope, only to have a letter fall out - a letter written on real parchment, a dying tradition even in the wizarding world.

In fact, parchment was typically reserved for three things. Announcement of a death, a courtship, or a business transaction. And… Draco turned the envelope over again, just to be sure. Yes, he had seen correctly.

Along with the lack of a seal and wax, there was also a distinct lack of any address other than his own name.

How…  refreshing . Someone who actually understood the rules of courting. Admittedly, he wasn’t sure if he liked the idea, but… it was only polite to give the person, whomever it was, a chance.

Draco carefully unfolded the letter, and couldn’t help the smile as he saw the carefully formed calligraphy. Apparently  someone  cared enough about him to follow said rules to the letter… But that brought up a valid point. Who would care enough about him, an ex- (though never convicted) death-eater?

Shaking his head, still not convinced that this wasn’t a prank, Draco proceeded to read the letter.

Draco Abraxus Malfoy,

As I do not have any close female relatives, I hope you will forgive my audacity in contacting you directly.

From the moment I first saw you, I was entwined in your fate, even when I didn’t understand the draw I felt towards you.

Now, I understand a bit more. You are gorgeous, yes, but that isn’t your entirety. You care for those that you call yours. You are intelligent, even if you hide that behind arrogance. I’ve seen you with your son, and you love him dearly, and show it to him. You would go to any lengths to protect him. You have a biting sense of humour that most see as plain mean, but I see it as the reflection of your history that it is.

If it would please you, I would hear your response. 

Your eagerly waiting ear.

By the end of the letter, Dracos’ free hand had moved to his mouth, as if to hide the smile that was forming on his lips.

Then, almost as if he was a child, Draco tossed the letter on the desk, and scrabbled for the envelope.

Yes, definitely formal courting. In the bottom of the envelope was a black hair ribbon - black for the colour of his suitors’ hair.

He fingered the hair tie, considering.

~~~

The next day, in the Wizagamot meeting, Draco proudly wore his hair tied back in an intricate braid, the black ribbon entwined throughout. He was distracted all though out, paying the whispers no heed, trying to deduce which of the black haired men it could possibly be.

~~~

Draco,

My heart was gladdened to see that you accept my suit. Your hair seemed to shimmer in the braid, like unicorn hair freely given. 

I will admit, I do not live by these rules. My friend, my source, she mentioned that you might appreciate this over the straight-forward method. And I agreed, so I did research.

According to the formulae, I should be telling you about myself in this letter. I fear that if I tell too much, you will guess immediately who I am, and put an end to this suit - as is your privilege.

I  am about your age, and you did know me at Hogwarts. I like quidditch, but I never considered a career in it. I understand your attachment to your son, for reasons of my own.

Needless to say, I don’t like talking about myself. I could easily go on for hours about you, but there isn’t much about me to say. I’m including the next gift, but with a twist. Instead of  my  eye colour, they are embroidered with yours. 

I hope you find a good use for them.

Yours.

~~~

Surprisingly enough, Draco did have a good use for the embroidered gloves. The very next day, he was attending the annual ministry Ministry gala. There was a reason his father always wore gloves - to avoid shaking hands with sweaty, plump, politicians.

With hair braided, and gloves on - embroidered silver runes of prosperity, happiness, and fertility partly hidden by the cuffs of his robes - Draco held his head high, hoping for, and not yet seeing any who matched the description.

He hid his disappointment, but as soon as he arrived home, put the adornments in the back of a drawer, and tried to snuff all thoughts of this debacle. It  was a prank, after all. After two letters, it was expected that the suitor reveal himself.

~~~

My dragon,

My most profuse apologies. I heard from my friend that you were absolutely magnificent in your robes, and my gifts, but I simply could not attend.

My ward was sick - dragon-pox, but there were complications. He has were blood, you see, and the dragon pox seems to have activated what was formerly an inactive gene.

I do hope you will not judge me too harshly. If you feel the need, you may send a letter via the owl, and he will get it to me. I know it isn’t strictly traditional, but I… I hope most greatly, and I do believe in my heart, that you will understand my break in tradition.

Yours.

~~~

My admirer.

While I can’t say that I wasn’t disappointed, and hurt, I can say that I understand completely.

If my son had dragon-pox, I would most certainly stay home, even without such horrid complications - and I mean horrid as in horrid for the poor child. I wouldn’t discriminate against what was so obviously not a choice.

I would like to propose that we depart from tradition, not that you have opened up the route. If it is amenable to you, I would like to… correspond. With a son to think of, and your ward, we can’t be too cautious. I would like to get to know you first, before learning your name. As for me, I will swear not to try to guess who you are.

If that is amenable to you?

Draco

~~~

Draco.

Yes, a thousand times over. I am not ashamed to say that I am terrible at formalities.

What did you do today? Besides the Wizamagot meeting, I mean.

But wasn’t that tedious? Lord Poplanick went on and on about how the Wizarding world was  so clearly discriminating against minority racial groups - such as his own, precious, italian-polish ancestry, all because of the lack of cultural events. You wouldn’t believe how dearly I wanted to bring up SPEW, or were-wolf rights. I was a good boy, and bit my tongue.

After that meeting, I took my ward out to the zoo. Yes, the muggle zoo. We live in the muggle world, a fact which has oftentimes caused more headaches than it prevents, with his accidental magic.

I don’t know who told him the story, but the little brat vanished the same glass case at the zoo that I did when I was younger - letting out the exact same anaconda. I am only glad that he can’t speak to snakes, otherwise I might be having to buy live mice for a rather large one at the moment.

I do agree that we cannot be too cautious, with the boys to consider. However, I… As we know each other, I would like to set a date in the future to meet each other face-to-face once again.

Yours.


End file.
